Ments



w l R. Mv. COPE Y .May 5, 1931. VENDING MACHINE Re. 18,059

original .F.iled'Aug. 11. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l NToRl Z f RAY gg/2E 1 BY W .d

A TTORNE Y.

R. M. COPE May 5, 1931'.

Original Filed Aug l'lll* [wanna BY RAY M COPE,

ATTORNEY.

R. M. coPE VENDING MACHINE May 5. 1931. Re. 18,059A

` Orlginal Filed Aug. r11. 1928 3 sheets-Sheet `3 Releued May 5, 1,931

UNITED STATES RAYIONIC I. COPE, Ol' CHICAG', ILLINOIS, ABSIGNOB, BY DIRECT AND IEBNE ASSIGN- i ENTE; 0l' ONE-Tm TO CHARLES mmm AND FOBTY-.FIVE CNE-HUNDREDTHB T0 WARREN A. JACKSON rlglnal lo. 1,748,591, dated January 7, 1990, Serial lo. 899,091, illed August 11, 1998. Applieatien'for Y reissue lled July 9, 1930. Serial No. 488,994.

My invention relatesto vending machines.

In accordance with' my invention, I provide-a'vending machine, which is adapted for vending bottled goods', such as, soft drinks, while not necessaril restricted to this use. The machine embo ies generally a casing, of such a shape and size that it may be divided into a'plurality of units. Each unit hasv a substantially greater vertical dimension than horizontal dimension.l Within each unit are disposed inclined trays or supports,

. upon which bottles rest, in a manner to `permit of their free rolling action. By havin the compartment of amuch greater vertica dimension than horizontal dimension,1a large number of trays or supports are employed, and each `tray or support is relatively short. The trays provide a zig-zag passage way for the bottles. The set of bottles on each tray is relatively short, thus reducing pressure or frictional engagement between the bottles in each set. This is important, .as it permits of the free rotationv of the bottles and eliminates the possibility of the bottles breaking,

in movement, or binding in their rolling action, which frequently occurs, if the inclined tray or support is long', whereby there is\a large number of bottles in each set. The casv ing is divided into a ilurality of vertical compartments, as state by4 partitions, and these partitions, as well as the trays or supports, are provided with openings. These openings afford the free circulation of air through all portions of the casing, and in addition, lighten and cheapen, the construction. The 'openings in the trays or supports extend throughout the major portion of their length, and also serve to reduce the contact areas between the trays and bottles, and hence reduce the friction between the trays and bottles. A refrgerating unit is preferably mounted exteriorly of the casing, u on the top thereof, and suppliesr the chill air to the casing, which circulates through all` `or tions thereof, thus properly cooling the ottles. The casing is prefera ly provided with relatively large doors to aord access to the Y interior thereof for refilling th casing, each door aords access to a plurality of vertical compartments. Each vertical compartment is provided with a vending door, controlled by a coin controlled lock. Upon the insertion of a coin, the vending door may be opened. The vending door is preferably hinged and when swung to the open position, a dividin late or element preferably rigidly secure Vt ereto, is moved between the lowermost bottle and the adjacent bottle, supporting the adjacent bottle so that it can not move downwardly. Preferably formed integral with the dividing plate 'or element lis an ejector plate or element, which is anlarl arranged, and adapted to engage beind ebottom of the bottle, and to automatically shift the same vforwardly so that its neck rojects a suitable distance forwardly beyon the casing. l This enables the bottle to be conveniently removed by the operator.l

re 1 is a side elevation of a vending.

section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1, the

vending door being shown open,

Figure 4 is a central vertical longitudinal section taken von line 4 4 of Figure 3, parts broken away,

. Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 1,

Figure 6 is a detailed horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 4, and,

Fi 7 is a perspective view of the vendi oor and associated elements.

the drawings wherein for the purpge of illustration is s own a preferred em iment of my invention the numeral 10 designates a casin as a whole, which is preferabl rectan ar, and preferably has a greater ongitudmal dimension than a vertical dimension.' This casing is supported by legs 11, as shown. A, The numeral 12 designates a refrigerating unit, such as is now being manf ufactu'red, and this unit is mounted upon the by doors13, hinged upon the same .as shown of an ejector, to be described.

18, provi The upper ends of one set of trays 18 in the top of the casing 10, and is adapted to supply cooled air to the interior of the casing,

Vsuch air entering at the' top of the casing and `descending therein. The casing is provided upon its front side with'openings' which are normally closed at 14. These doors may be heldin the closed position by locks 15, of any well known or preferred type. By opening thedoors'13, access may be had to the various compartments Within the casing, for replenishing the supply of bottles. l

Arranged within the casing 10 are vertical partitions 151, rigidly held 1n place by any -suitable means, and these partitions have relativelylare air circulatin openings 16 as shown. T

epartitions ivide the casing into vertical compartments 17, the numl.

ber of compartments varying with the length of the casing. Each compartment has asubstantially eater vertical dimension than horizontal ensionf. Y

Arranged within the compartments are inclined sta red supporting elements or trays g tortuous passages, -as shown.

end compartments 17 are attached to the ends of the casing, and the other set of trays have .their upper ends attached to the partition 151.

In the intermediate com artments, both sets `of trays are secured to tie partitions. The

trays 18 are provided with relatively large longitudinal openings 19, extendjn throughout the major portion oftheir len These openingsk serve to lighten and c eapen the construction of the trays, ermitting of the.

free circulation of the air t rough the` trays, and also reducing the area of contact between the trays and the bottles supported thereon,

causing the bottles to roll with reduced friction, The lower end of the u per tray 18 is spaced from the upper end o the next lowerV tra ,affording openings 20, for the passage o the bottles. a v

Arranged with'n the bottom of each compartment 17 is al bottle receiver'21, which is rigidly attached to the partition 151, or the end of the casing 10, as may-be required. This bottle receiver is substantially semi-circular in cross section and is provided with transverse openings 22 for the circulation of air and-to reduce the frictionvbetween the same and the bottle. The longitudinal axis of the bottle receiver 21 is at a ri ht an le to the longitudinal axis of the adjacent 1nclined tray 18, as shown. The `rear'end ofl the bottle receiver 21 is spaced from the back wall of the casing 10, to Yprovide for the travel Each verticalv compartment 17 is 4rovided in the front wall oft e casing 10 wi a vending opening, to be closed by a vending door the door is unlocked. The vendin then shifted to the openposition. he sepf 23, hin ed to the casing as shown at 24, to swin vide that'the operator may ascertain if the com- 4partment is filled or. empty. vvEach door is further provided with a coin controlled lock device embodying a knob 26, and a slot 27 for orizontally. Each door' 23 is pro-y with a glass covered peep-hole 25, sol

receiving the coin. Upony the insertion `of a coin into the slot 27 ,the lock device 26 may y be actuated so that the door 23 may be swung to the open-position. When the door is aain closed, the lockdevice 26, will hold the oor locked in the closed posltion, until another coin has been inserted into the slot 27. The door 23 of each vertical compartment 17 is in `alinement `with the bottle receiver 21.

The numeral 28 designates a horizontally swinging separator, or plate, having a shank 29, which is rigidly attached to the inner side of the vending door f 23. The separator swings horizontally with the vending door. When the vending door is closed, `Figure 5, 'the separator 28 is disposed at a right angle to the bottle receiver 21, and when the door 23 is swung to the open position, Figure 5, the separator 28 passes between the bottle 1n thereceiver 21 and the adjacent upper bottle, the movement of the separator in that direction being limited by contact with the partltion 151. l A 'l j The separator is provided at its inner or free end with a depending angularly arranged ejector 291, Vrigidly attached thereto, and preferably ,formedv integral therewith. This angularly arranged ejector is adapted to be forced behind the bottle, and travels in the space at the rear of the receiver 21,

and will force the bottle outwardly, `a short distance, sothat its neck will be positioned within the vendingopening, to be conveniently engaged bythe customer.

The arrangement of they vending doors 23A is such that a number of customers may 0perate the machine, atthe same time. Each customer inserts a coin into the. slot 27, and` actuates the coin controlled lock device 26,

as by turning the knob of the same, whereby door is then lowermost bottle, and the Vbottles lroll down the inclined trays or supports, and the lowermost bottle is bottle receiver again held within thel It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape size and arrangement of parts, may be re-A sorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a vending machine, a passageway for receiving bottles or the like to travel therein, a receiver arranged near the lower end of the passageway, a horizontally pivoted i therein and the next upper bottle, an anguabove and across the receiver, and an angular la-rly disposed ejector rigidly mounted upon.

the separator and adapted to engage behind the end of the bottle within the receiver to shift the same longitudinally, andvmeans to control access to the bottle.

3. In a vending machine, a passageway for receiving bottles, a receiver arranged near the lower end of the passageway, a pivoted door controlling access to the receiver, a horizontally swinging separator bodily mounted upon the door to pass above the bottle in the y receiver, and an angularly arranged ejector carried by the separator.

4. In a vending machine, a casing having a vending opening, a horizontally swinging vending door to close the o the lower vend of the inclined passageway and having its end arranged in general alinement with the vending opening, a. horizontally swinging separator rigidly mounted upon the vending door and adapted forl movement ly disposed ejector rigidl secured to the separator and depending t erefrom.

5. In a vending machine, a casing, an upstanding .passageway formed therein and having a substantially greater vertical dimension than horizontal dimension, said pas-V sageway embodying inclined trays having longitudinal openings formed therein and extending over the major portion of the areas of the same, the openings providing for the free circulation of air and reducing the contact area between the trays and bottles or the like supported thereby, a receiver arrangedning, an inclined passageway within the casing, a receiver near near the lower end of the passageway, a movable vending door to afford access to the receiver, and a separator connected with the vending door and adapted to move over and across the receiver.

6. In a vending machine, a casing, means dividing the casing-into upstanding compartments'which have substantially greater vertical dimension than horizontal dimension, relatively short inclined trays disposed in staggered relation in each compartment for providing an inclined passageway, said trays having longitudinal openings. formed therein for providing for the circulation of air and to reduce the contact area between the bottles or the like and the trays, a receiver arranged near the lower end of each passageway, a movable vendinv door for each receiver, and a separator carried by the door and movable above and across the receiver.

7. In a vending machine, a casing, partitions dividing the casing into a plural-it of vertical compartments, saidpartitions aving openings for the circulation ofair, relatively short inclined trays arranged in each compartment in staggered relation to provide an inclined passageway which has a substantially greater vertical dimension than horidoor and movable above and across the receiver, and means to supply a cooling medium to the upper portion of the casing.

8. In a vending machine, a casing, an up.- standing passageway formed therein and having a substantially reaterverticall dimension than horizontal imension, said passageway'embodiyin bottle sup orting means havin longitu ina openings armed therein exten ing over the major portion of the area of the same, the openings providing `for the free circulation of air and reducing the contact area between the trays and bottles or the like supported thereby, a receiver arranged near'thel lower end of the passageway, amovable vending door for the receiver, a separator connected with the door and moved thereby and adapted to be shifted across thev receiver, an ejector carried by the separator like to partly shi to theupper portion of the casing.

l 9. In an article dispensing machine, a housing, a passagewaydened therein and communicating vwith an article receiver, av discharge ogg' through w adjacent said fopening, a separator, vmeans ning.` through said housing,

ch articles may be withdrawn, a` closure for said opening, movably positioned whereby the se arator may be operated by said closure, sai separator adapted when operated by said closure to move relative to the receiver into position to separate an article theleinv from any otherswithin the housing, and to serve as -a stop for other articles, whereby, upon removal of the first mentioned article, other articles are inaccessible through i the opening.

10. In an article dispensing machine, a housing, a passageway defined therein, a dischaige opening through said housing, through which articles may be withdrawn, a closure for said opening, movably positioned adjacent said opening, a separator, means whereby the separator may be operated by said closure and to swing horizontall said separator adapted when operated by said closure to be moved horizontally into a position between the two articles to separate an A.

article from any others within the housing, and to` serve as a stop for theother articles, whereby, upon removal of the first mentioned article, other articles are inaccessible through the opening. e

11. In a dispensing machine, a housing, .a

' passage defined therein, a discharge opening through saidv housing communicatingY wit said .passage through which articles may be withdrawn. from thepassage, a closure yfor `said opening, movably positioned adjacent said opening, said assage being so disposed that articles are fe downward through it by gravity, a separator, means whereby the separator may Vbe operated by 'said closure, said separator adapted to be moved into' position.

above the lowest article, said article remain,-

' ing stationary during the initial movement of the separator, andthe separator when vin said position operating to se arate the lowest article from those above, an to support, and cut of access to, the article above when the closure is in the-openrposition.

12. In a dispensing machine, a housing, a tortuous passage defined therein, a discharge openin through said housing communicating wit saidpassage through which articles lcent said openin said passa may be withdrawn from the passage, a closurefor said opening, movably positioned adjae so disposed that articles are ed downwa throughl it b gravit a separator mounted to be o rate by sai closure, and to move horizont y, said separator adapted to be moved into position -above the lowest article, and when iny said pocent said opening, a-separator, means whereby the. separator may be operated by said c osure, said separator adapted when operated by s-aid closure to be moved into position to separate.' a'n article in the receiver from any others within the housing, and to serve as aastpp for other articles, whereby, upon removal of the `first mentioned article,

other articlesare inaccessible Vthrough the opening and an ejector together with means whereby the ejector may be moved by said closure to engage the article in the receiver and to move the article with respect to said receiver in the direction of discharge.

14. In an article dispensing machine, a housing, a tortuous passageway defined therein communicating with an article receiver, a" .discharge opening throu h said housing, through which articles may e withdrawn, a closure for 'said opening, movably positioned ad`acent said opening, a separator, means where the separator may be operated by said c osure, said separator adapted when'operated vby said' closilre Ito be moved into position to separate an 4article from any .others within the housing,|' and to serve as a stop for other articles, whereby, upon vremoval of the first mentioned article, other articles are inaccessible through the opening and an ejector, means whereby the ejector .may be moved by said closure to engage an Y article in the receiver" to move it with respect- Ito the receiver. in th direction of discharge,

and means whereby said ejector and said sep-v arator move together.x f

15. In an article dispensing machine a housing adapted toc'onfine a stack of articles, a stationary receiver for supporting the lowermost article inthe stack, and means operable to separate the lowermost article from the others in the stack, a door controlling access' to said housing and being operatively connected to said last mentioned means to render said article accessible from the exterior ofthe housin Si ed at hicago, inthe county of Cook and tate of Illinois this 26 day of August,

' RAYMOND M. corn.

sition to se arate the lowestarticle from those v i above, an to support, andut of access to,

the article above when the closure'is in the .y

g'openposition. Y. Y

13. Injan article dis g machine, a housing, a passageway efined therein communicating with an article receiver, a d1scharge openingthroughysaid housing, through which-articles maybe' withdrawn, a closure for said opening, movably positioned adjles 

